Footage: The final destruction of ISIS forces in Sukhnah

BEIRUT, LEBANON (6:20 P.M.) – The Syrian Ministry of Defence has released footage of the final military actions by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) around the strategic town of al-Sukhnah in eastern Homs Governorate.

The footage is far more recent than the originally reported liberation date of al-Sukhnah (August 6) suggests.

Although al-Sukhnah was de facto liberated on August 6, two problems continued to face pro-government forces regarding the full securing of the desert town.

The first problem was that most of the eastern and central areas of al-Sukhnah had been heavily mined by ISIS before the terrorist group retreated from the settlement, meaning that engineering teams needed to be brought up to the front and an action plan for the systematic deminng of the town devised.

The second problem was that ISIS had tunnels which ran into the eastern suburbs of the al-Sukhnah from hilltops to the north of town through which jihadist militants would transit in order to launch small raiding attacks against army engineering units. Not until the final hilltops directly to the north of the settlement were secured and the tunnels located and sunk was this issue fully resolved.

The footage below shows SAA tanks and artillery of the 5th Assault Corps carrying out the final reduction of ISIS resistance in what is most likely the eastern suburbs of al-Sukhnah.

Improve the Discussion

Help us make this a great place for discussion by always working to improve the discussion in some way, however small. If you are not sure your post adds to the conversation, think over what you want to say and try again later.

The topics discussed here matter to us, and we want you to act as if they matter to you, too. Be respectful of the topics and the people discussing them, even if you disagree with some of what is being said.